Telltale Games CEO Talks Upcoming Batman Adaptation, Future Games

Following the reveal of Batman: A Telltale Game Series at The Game Awards 2015, Telltale Games CEO Kevin Bruner sheds some light on their upcoming Batman game and future titles.

Last year’s The Game Awards saw a number of awards being handed out, some tributes being made, and a few surprise video game announcements. But one of the biggest surprise announcements of that night was arguably the reveal of Batman: A Telltale Game Series. After a few months of relative silence following the game’s brief reveal trailer, Telltale Games CEO Kevin Bruner has now shed some light on the upcoming Batman: A Telltale Game Series.

With the first episode set for launch sometime in 2016, Bruner has stated that their adaptation of Batman will be unlike any other Batman game on the market. Speaking to Kotaku, Bruner said:

“Our Batman series is looking fantastic. I think it might become one of the best things we’ve ever done. I can’t go into much detail, but the Batman team is amazing and they are really on top of it. It’s not like any other Batman game out there. This game really explores all aspects of Batman, not just the the “fighting in the suit” side of him. There’s a lot of subplots to explore and some really amazing choices that have a big impact on the story being told. I really think it might be the peak of the mountain for us so far.”

Since the popular Arkham franchise is now concluded with release of Batman: Arkham Knight, Telltale’s version of Batman will be a welcome return to the world of Gotham. Since it is highly unlikely that Telltale will make some large-scale open-world Batman game, it is expected that their upcoming take on Batman will feature the usual Telltale point-and-click gameplay. What will be interesting is how the origin story of Bruce Wayne will be handled, especially if Telltale uses their trademark branching storyline mechanic.

For those wanting a quick taste on what to expect from Batman: A Telltale Game Series, check out the teaser trailer below.

With a large slate of games on their agenda including Game of Thrones, Tales of the Borderlands,The Walking Dead, and a host of unannounced original IP, Telltale are undoubtedly a busy lot. But with the Telltale team now growing to over 300 people, Bruner has stated that they’re well-prepared to handle their large workload:

“We’ve basically built the studio to handle up to four Telltale series at the same time, with a little extra for special projects. The productions are staggered so each project is in a different stage at any time. Pretty much everyone here ends up working on every project at some point, so our biggest challenge is coordinating how the projects are flowing through the studio. Last year we really put so much work into that aspect of the studio, and I think you’ll see that pay off with this year’s line up.”

Given that Telltale is obviously juggling more than four series at once, there’s a worry that the studio may be spreading themselves a little too thin, and the quality of the games may suffer. But based on how the first episode of The Walking Dead: Michonne turned out, Telltale appears to have quality control under wraps at the moment.

With a very busy 2015 over, it looks like 2016 is set to be another big year for Telltale. In addition to Batman, Telltale is expected to wrap up The Walking Dead: Michonne and Minecraft: Story Mode, while news for their highly-anticipated The Walking Dead: Season Threeis expected to drop at some point.

Couple those titles with an upcoming console game set in the Marvel Universe, a TV and game collaboration with Lionsgate Studios, and the reveal of Telltale’s own original IP at some point in the future, it looks like gamers can expect a lot more things from Telltale Games for a while yet.

The first episode of Batman: A Telltale Game Series will be launched at some point in 2016. No platforms are confirmed yet, but it is expected that the game will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.